Robin Hobb

The quest needed more meat to it. Protagonist became more cardboard-y after not incrementally learning from his own experiences, which the author over used as conflict. I was rolling my eyes more & more.

I won't be able to recommend this to kids age 10 or so who love Ranger's Apprentice, like I can with Bk 1. There's a shift in his relationships & it's more YA. Sometimes I get pissed at how there's so few people making decisions at the top in the Six Duchies. Each Duchy typically would have a representative to speak up to the king & to have regular meetings with. That there's no one, save Regal, gets infuriating, & seems more a grating plot device. I still want to read book 3.

Well written but excruciatingly slow and bereft of action. The rest of the series is meant to be much better and I sorely hope that is the case if I'm to get through it.

This was better the second time around